Caged Bird
by Angel's Angel
Summary: A caged bird, a lone bird... one day she was set free and went home. A singer whose life was forced had been released and went back to her family, finally living a life of peace. Finding old friends and new, her new life begins.


**I have ideas but whenever I write it in only few lines... I got bored**

**Oh well, nevermind.**

**I do not own Prince of Tennis, only Kumiko!**

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Caged Bird**_

_**Prince of Tennis/Tenipuri story**_

"Onii-chan! Save me!!" A little girl screamed.

"Kumiko! Let her go! Please! Don't hurt her! Kumiko!" a boy yelled and tried to free himself from the hold some men had on him.

"Onii-chan! Mama! Papa!" The little girl screamed as tears flowed endlessly from her eyes.

"Kumiko! No! Don't take my daughter! I beg you!"

"Onii-chan! I wanna be with onii-chan! Let me go!"

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A young girl opened her eyes and sat up on her bed, sweats covered her face and she felt like the air had been sucked out from her lungs. The young girl, known to be as Kumiko, shook her head and looked at the picture frame beside her luxury bed. She smiled and a tear flowed down from her eyes when she saw the picture of her and her beloved older brother.

"I'm finally free… onii-chan… I'm coming home…"

Kumiko then took the picture frame and held it tightly as she went to bed, the nightmare diminished as her mind is now filled with the memories of her brother and her playing together and her bright childhood.

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Somewhere in Japan, a young man smiled while looking at the picture of him and Kumiko. When he had heard the news of his mad uncle and auntie, who had taken his beloved sister away by force from him, had gone into an accident and passed away. He thought that it must be karma, because they had taken someone dear by force from their family. The young man, Tezuka, couldn't stop having a small smile when his mother and cried in happiness when they heard the news and hearing the voice of her daughter whom she haven't heard from for years.

"Mama… I'm coming home…"

Having finally hearing her voice, his parents had burst into tears and so had he. All of them cried in happiness for they could finally reunite as a whole family. Kumiko was crying so badly, having taken away from her family ever since she was young must have taken a toll on her. She kept saying how she missed them, how miserable the life she had, being forced to make money from singing, for her voice is as sweet as an angel.

"Kumiko…" Tezuka called out his sister's name and sighed before he got ready to go to school.

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Kumiko breathed the air of her homeland when she had finally aborted the plane. Dragging her suitcase and carefully slipping from the crowd, afraid of being recognized, being the former diva she is. When she break the news she'll be taking a permanent leave, her fans had an uproar, she had told her reasons and told everything, from her forced lifestyle until her 'caretaker's' death. The crowd was shocked and the fans had cried on her behalf. She had reassured all of them that she will continue singing, but not in the big stage, now she had only wanted to sing for people who are in pain, she now only wanted to sing to see people smiles.

Kumiko was shocked to see her fans at the airport and she had cried, thanking them for understanding her situation and for still giving her their support. She finally bid her luxury life farewell and went to embrace her old but happy life. Kumiko spotted her father and mother waving at her and she quickly ran towards them.

"Papa! Mama!" Kumiko cried as she hugged her parents.

"My baby, my baby girl, you're home!" Ayana said as she held her daughter tight.

"Welcome home…" Kuniharu said as he patted his daughter's head. Kumiko looked up to them with a smile and tears brimming in her eyes and nodded.

"I'm home…"

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At Seigaku's tennis court, the tennis club members were shocked to see Tezuka coming with a small soft smile graced his usual stoic face. Fuji and the other third year regulars, knowing Tezuka's reason behind the smile just patted his shoulder while some slap him on the back.

"She's probably on her way to your house, right?" Tezuka looked at Fuji and gave a little nod.

"She sure has grown." Tezuka nodded once more and his face went back to his usual stoic expression when he saw the 2nd years and freshmen slacking.

"All 2nd years and freshmen, regulars or not! 30 laps!" The freshmen and the 2nd years were all startled when their captain and yelled out and quickly ran.

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In the car, Kumiko was giddy and kept snuggling onto her mother's embrace.

"Where's onii-chan?" Kumiko asked curiously.

"Kunimitsu is at school right now, you can see him after school if you want."

"Can I?"

"Of course you can." Ayana giggles when Kumiko's face brightened up and went back to sleeping on her lap.

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When they arrived at the house, Kumiko quickly darts into the house, running around until Ayana heard the screaming of 'Jii-chan!' and an old man's laughter. Ayana walked towards his father's room and saw Kumiko hugging her grandfather.

"Kumiko, you're going to hurt your grandfather if you kept that up." Kumiko quickly released her grandfather.

"How's my granddaughter faring?" Kunikazu asked Kumiko.

"I'm okay, I missed you lots ojii-chan!"

"I missed you too, you silly girl."

"Kumiko, do you want to go see Kunimitsu? I'm sure his tennis practice supposed to end already around this time."

"Yes! Yes!"

"So you better change into a more comfortable clothes then. And be careful, I'll be writing the directions to you." Kumiko quickly darted out from Kunikazu's room towards her own. Ayana shares a smile with her father when she heard Kumiko opening the door and squealed.

"Glad to have her home…"

"Especially Kunimitsu, he'll be so happy to see her again after such a long time…"

"She must have been through lots…"

"Kunimitsu will take care of everything, I'm sure of that."

"Yes, Kunimitsu is always her place to tell secrets and problems."

"Being the doting brother he is, I'm sure he'll make sure to tell every boys off from his sister."

"Let's just see, Ayana." Kunikazu said with a laugh.

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"Mama said it's here." Kumiko said when she stood in front of a school.

"Seishun Gakuen. Okay, it's here." Kumiko said as she skipped inside the school ground, giddy to see her brother again.

Kumiko went around the school until she had stopped in front of the tennis ground. It was empty, but wasn't her brother supposed to be here?

"Who are you?" Kumiko yelped and turned around to see an old lady standing behind her.

"H-Hello…"

"Are you looking for someone…?"

"Y-Yes, I'm looking for someone named Tezuka Kunimitsu."

"Oh, Tezuka? He's with the team running laps around the school building, he'll be back soon. You can wait if you want."

"Thank you." Kumiko said as she bowed. Kumiko then spotted a tennis racket and then looked back at the old lady.

"Excuse me, um…"

"Ryuuzaki Sumire, tennis coach."

"Oh, Ryuuzaki-sensei, can I borrow that racket over there?" Kumiko said as she pointed at the neglected tennis racket. Ryuuzaki looked at the abandoned racket in the middle of the court and nodded.

"That's Eiji's, it's fine. You can borrow it." Kumiko then bowed as Ryuuzaki walked away and entered the courts. Kumiko vaguely remember that her brother used to teach tennis to her. She had played once in America to let loose of her emotion and wasn't sure if she could do it. Kumiko then took a ball and started hitting the ball towards the wall. Kumiko started to smile as she kept hitting the ball on the same place over and over, remembered how her brother used to guide her through. Kumiko kept hitting the tennis ball; doesn't notice that the tennis club had gathered back outside the tennis court to look at her.

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"H-Hey mamushi, isn't she…" Momo said breathlessly.

"Y-Yeah… she's the famous Kumiko… in person…" Kaido said.

"Well, looks like she's back safe and sound." Fuji said as the regulars looked suspiciously towards the genius.

"Fujiko, you know her nya?!" Eiji said unbelievingly.

"Of course I knew her, I knew her ever since she's a little girl."

"Why didn't you tell me, nya?!"

"Isn't that counted as a private matter? Besides, she's here because she wanted to see her brother."

"Oh right! That's Kumiko! It's been long time since I last saw her I didn't recognize her." Ooishi said.

"You know her too, Ooishi?!"

"Well, me, Fuji and taka-san met her once before."

"Who's her brother? I never new the famous Kumiko had a brother."

"Because she doesn't expose her family because of private matters."

"But she quit the entertainment industry from what I heard and she said she's going back to her hometown… oh!" Momo said.

"This is her hometown." Fuji said. Ooishi then noticed the spot Kumiko's been hitting the ball.

"I never knew she's this good in tennis, do you Fuji?" Ooishi said.

"Well, I remember she used to swing tennis racket, but I didn't know she played."

"Me either." Kawamura said.

"Interesting data." Inui said as he scribbles onto his notebook.

"Nii nii?" The regulars then looked at the girl who's staring back at them with a raised eyebrow.

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Kumiko then noticed some people watching her and stopped hitting the ball. Kumiko squinted her eyes and realized that she recognize 3 of them as her older brother's friends who used to play with her when she was little.

"Nii nii?" She called out the nickname she used to call the older boys.

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"Kumiko." The girl's face quickly brightens up as she ran towards them. Fuji welcomed the younger girl with open arms as the younger hugged him.

"I missed you nii nii!"

"I missed you too." Kumiko then threw her arms to Kawamura and Ooishi who smiled at her and patted her head.

"How are you?" Ooishi asked.

"I'm fine now!"

"Are you tired? You just got back today."

"No! After all, I'm going to meet onii-chan!" The three smiled at the excited girl and nodded. Kumiko then looked at the people beside them and looked back at Fuji.

"Oh, this is our teammates. This is Kikumaru Eiji, he's the same age as us, while this is Momoshiro Takeshi and Kaido Kaoru, they're in their 2nd year." Fuji explained as Kumiko nodded.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Kumiko." Kumiko said as she bowed.

"I'm your fan, it's really nice to see you in person!" Momoshiro said with Eiji.

"T-Thank you… oh, and this." Kumiko said as she gave the racket she's been using to Eiji.

"This is yours right, I kind of borrowed it just now, if you don't mind."

"No, not at all!" Eiji was excited and kept saying to Momo that the famous Kumiko used his racket.

"Where's onii-chan?"

"He's talking with Ryuuzaki-sensei, our coach, he'll be here soon."

"Okay."

"Kumiko, you didn't tell me you play tennis." Ooishi said.

"Onii-chan taught me how to swing it and I hit few balls, after that, I usually play tennis secretly to relax, since it's the only thing that remind me of onii-chan." Fuji, Ooishi and Kawamura looked sadly at her and she noticed this as she just smiled at them.

"So, can I have a piggyback now?" Kumiko said as she raised her arms at Kawamura.

"You're in your first year and you still wanted piggyback?" Fuji asked while he chuckles after Kawamura had lifted her on his back.

"I miss my piggybacks the most." Kumiko said.

"You're still such a little girl." Fuji said as he ruffles Kumiko's hair. Kumiko then spotted Tezuka and quickly jumped off of Kawamura.

"Onii-chan!" Kumiko said as she jumped on the shocked Tezuka.

"… Bucchou is her older brother?!" Momoshiro said with an opened jaw.

"Yes, I guess she never really told her fans about her family. Her name is Tezuka Kumiko, younger sister of Tezuka Kunimitsu, known as our captain." Fuji said as he chuckles from Momoshiro, Kaido and Eiji's dropped jaw.

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"Onii-chan!" Tezuka heard Kumiko's voice rang in his ears and found the said girl hugging him.

"Kumiko…" Tezuka lifted Kumiko up so she could bury her head on his shoulder as she started to cry little sobs.

"I missed you…" Kumiko choked. Tezuka's eyes softened and he patted her head.

"It's alright now… I'm here." Tezuka let Kumiko down as he wiped her tears and held her hand tight.

"Can we go home now?" Kumiko said as she looked at Tezuka with red puffy eyes.

"Of course." Tezuka said as they walked towards the regulars.

"Fuji, I'm going to take my bag." Tezuka said as he told Kumiko to wait for him with Fuji. When Tezuka entered the clubroom, Fuji turned to face Kumiko.

"Kumiko, have you chosen the school you're going to?" Kumiko rubbed her eyes and shook her head.

"Mama said I should take some day off first then think about school, since I was home-schooled there I advanced."

"I see. Your mother is right, you should take some days off to rest."

"But I can still come and visit here, right? To play tennis?"

"Of course, if Tezuka lets you come."

"Come on, Kumiko." Tezuka called as Kumiko trotted over and held Tezuka's hand tightly.

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"Oh, Echizen, where were you?" Momoshiro said when he saw the freshman walking out.

"Bathroom."

"Hey, ochibi, look! Tezuka's younger sister is the famous Kumiko!" Kumiko, hearing someone called her name, turned around to have her eyes widened.

"Echizen-kun…?" Echizen looked up and froze in place.

"Kumiko-san?"

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**Read and Review!**

**I don't know if I'll be making a continuation, but I don't think I will make one**

**Okay, end of story!**

**I'm tired...**


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